Building approvals in Nakuru have gone online, cutting the waiting time from at least three months to a maximum of 45 days.
The county has launched the Electronic Development Applications Management System (E-DAMS), which will be used to guide development and hasten application processes.
It will now take 25 days to approve domestic houses or single-dwelling houses, while major commercial projects will take a maximum of 45 days. Approvals used to take at least three months before then.
“Nakuru is one of the fastest urbanising counties in Kenya. We need to control such a growth so that we don’t become a slum in the next 20 to 30 years,” said Ms. Stella Mwaura, the Chief Officer for Lands and Physical Planning Docket.
Ms. Mwaura said she was happy about the online platform, which she said took about six months to develop.
“Even if it will render many of our untrained and non-registered people in the sector jobless, the benefits, which include taming corruption in the department, far outweigh the negatives by far,” said the Chief Officer.
The platform will allow online submission of building proposals by architects and planners for evaluation and approval and automatically manage workflow to allow applications to be routed concurrently to the various technical evaluators.
“Before the introduction of E-DAMS, stakeholders navigated through the paper—a heavy process that was often characterised by inefficiencies and countless trips to county offices.
Edams has offered a dramatic change with the approval turnover time. The system automates the process of applying for permits, approvals, and licenses related to land and property development with portals where developers can fast-track their submissions,” elaborated the Chief Officer.
Ms. Mwaura noted that the E-DAMS system provides data necessary for more informed decisions regarding zoning, infrastructure development, and resource allocation, ultimately contributing to the creation of more organised and sustainable land development and improved living standards for the citizens of Nakuru.
The Chief Officer said the online system is a milestone for the county and would go a long way in ensuring that building and construction industry services are done fast, cost-effectively, and efficiently.
In addition, the system will help in the issuance of development permits, profiling of ongoing developments for inspection process, support for the planning enforcement process, and data collection on inspections and archiving of all data.
She added that the electronic construction permit system is expected to fast-track development approval processes.
“The Electronic Development Application Management System (E-DAMS) will help speed the construction permit process for builders, inspectors, and plan reviewers, thus promoting efficiency and curbing corruption. All developers will now be required to submit e-permit registration before they embark on their projects,” elaborated the Chief Officer.
Ms. Mwaura said the interactive eDAMS system will enable users to access key county services at their own comfort regardless of their location.
The official assured members of the public that the interactive system has incorporated views from various stakeholders and urged investors keen on development initiatives in the county to make use of it to fast-track their investment processes.
“Digitization of our services is not optional, and we endeavor to fully digitize all our services so that members of the public have access to them with ease,” said Ms. Mwaura.
She added that the launch of the new system was timely considering the current global practice since it will eliminate paperwork and physical interactions.
Ms. Mwaura observed that the qualitative system will do away with subjective processes that were previously rife at the County Offices.
“This system will get rid of quacks who had previously infiltrated the manual approval processes in our county offices; only qualified professionals will interact with the system,” she said.
The Electronic Development Application Systems is a web-based software application that automates the development applications that include planning proposals, architectural building proposals, and associated civil and structural engineering designs and inspection processes.
Nakuru now joins Kajiado, Nairobi, Kiambu, and Kisumu to launch e-DAMS.
The system has been advanced from all the previously launched ones with enhanced features that seal the loopholes exhibited by the systems in the other counties.
By Jane Ngugi and Brian Kosgey
